Vancouver remembers Jack Layton one year after his death

Messages on the plaza outside Canada Place at a memorial marking the anniversary of the death of Jack Layton Vancouver, August 22 2012.Gerry Kahrmann
/ Vancouver Sun

Jennifer Stobbart finishes the message she and her mother chalked on the plaza outside Canada Place at the memorial marking the anniversary of the death of Jack Layton, Vancouver, August 22 2012.Gerry Kahrmann
/ Vancouver Sun

Don McBain reads the messages chalked on the plaza outside Canada Place at a memorial marking anniversary of the death of Jack Layton Vancouver, August 22 2012.Gerry Kahrmann
/ Vancouver Sun

Terry Stobbart looks at the message she and her daughter chalked on the plaza outside Canada Place at the memorial marking the anniversary of the death of Jack Layton Vancouver, August 22 2012.Gerry Kahrmann
/ Vancouver Sun

Messages chalked on the plaza outside Canada Place at a memorial marking the anniversary of the death of Jack Layton Vancouver, August 22 2012.Gerry Kahrmann
/ Vancouver Sun

Messages chalked on the plaza outside Canada Place at a memorial marking the anniversary of the death of Jack Layton Vancouver, August 22 2012.Gerry Kahrmann
/ Vancouver Sun

Jennifer Stobbart finishes the message she and her mother chalked on the plaza outside Canada Place at the memorial marking the anniversary of the death of Jack Layton ,Vancouver, August 22 2012.Gerry Kahrmann
/ Vancouver Sun

Messages chalked on the plaza outside Canada Place at a memorial marking the anniversary of the death of Jack Layton Vancouver, August 22 2012.Gerry Kahrmann
/ Vancouver Sun

Jennifer Stobbart finishes the message she and her mother chalked on the plaza outside Canada Place at the memorial marking the anniversary of the death of Jack Layton ,Vancouver, August 22 2012.Gerry Kahrmann
/ Vancouver Sun

Bradley Hughes chalks a note to Jack Layton on the plaza outside Canada Place at a memorial marking the anniversary of his death Vancouver, August 22 2012.Gerry Kahrmann
/ Vancouver Sun

Don McBain reads the messages chalked on the plaza outside Canada Place at a memorial marking anniversary of the death of Jack Layton Vancouver, August 22 2012.Gerry Kahrmann
/ Vancouver Sun

A cooler of orange crush sits at the memorial marking anniversary of the death of Jack Layton in the plaza of Canada PlaceVancouver, August 22 2012.Gerry Kahrmann
/ Vancouver Sun

Jennifer Stobbart finishes the message she and her mother chalked on the plaza outside Canada Place at the memorial marking the anniversary of the death of Jack Layton Vancouver, August 22 2012.Gerry Kahrmann
/ Vancouver Sun

Scores of people gathered outside the Vancouver Convention Centre on Wednesday evening to mark the first anniversary of former NDP leader Jack Layton’s death and celebrate the life of the man who led his party to official opposition status for the first time in its 50-year history.

Yvonne Harris, 76, was working as a regional planner in White Horse 10 years ago when she met Layton.

“One thing that really amazed me about him was he really listened,” she said, pointing to his message of “love, hope and optimism” that helped galvanize voters across the country last year.

“He fought for a lot of what I believe in in terms of a better place to live, for equality between the rich and the poor,” she said after bending down to write a message in chalk on the paved plaza ground.

“Dear Jack, My heart still aches But I promise to work to make a better world,” it read.

Starting around 5:30 p.m., volunteers handed out candles and orange crush while chalk messages scrawled in orange, purple and green flowered across the plaza.

Tim Chu, a 23-year-old University of B.C. student and NDP volunteer, recalled Layton’s famous charisma, personable manner and easy charm, especially with youths.

“He always cared about young people, made young people feel very comfortable within the party,” Chu said. “He’s somebody that you would meet for twenty seconds and you would get the impression that you’ve known him your entire life.”

Andrew Astfalk, Chu’s friend and a recent UBC alum, agreed: “He could communicate with anyone. When I met him at UBC he would talk with frat boys about football, just joking around with people he had just met, you just felt so comfortable with him.

“I think of him very fondly.”

Organized by party members, activists and friends, the memorial was informal. Young and old mingled amidst a strong breeze off Burrard Inlet. No speeches or special observances were planned, said federal NDP treasurer Tania Jarzebiak.

She said she had last seen Layton at the exact spot in June 2011 during the federal NDP’s biennial convention. “I remember Jack and Olivia dancing at the convention centre to [Vancouver-based band] Said the Whale,” she said smiling.

Earlier in the day, Vancouver East MP Libby Davies commented by phone from the larger-scale memorial outside Toronto city hall, where Layton had his political roots as a city councillor in the 1980s.

“The compassion and the care that he had for people really came through in his politics and the way he worked with people,” she said over the strains of a memorial concert. “I really feel that he was like a mentor and a guide to us, to MPs and to Canadians generally.”

Davies sat next to Layton in parliament for eight years as NDP house leader and then deputy leader.

She also mentioned that singer Raffi had flown into Toronto from Salt Spring Island to perform “Letter to a Nation,” inspired by Layton, earlier that evening.

“This legacy he has of a different kind of politics, of embracing people and being inclusive, opening up politics where people have felt cynical ... I see it everywhere.”

Layton died on Aug. 22, 2011 at the age of 61, less than four months after spearheading the country-wide “orange surge,” which saw the NDP capture 103 of parliament’s 308 seats. The party won 12 of B.C.’s 36 seats in B.C. and 59 of 75 seats in Quebec.

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Vancouver remembers Jack Layton one year after his death

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By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.